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A chocolate spider sits on a chocolate spider web covered sheet cake
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Spider Web Cake

The richest chocolate cake ever topped with a fudge buttercream and of course there's a spider too!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 16 people
Calories 442kcal
Author John Kanell

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cup strong hot coffee Use a Moka pot so it's basically espresso
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Frosting:

  • 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pound confectioners sugar sifted
  • ⅓ cup fudge nice quality
  • 1/3 cup white chocolate melted

For the Spider:

  • 1 Brown peanut M&M
  • 1 Brown M&M
  • 2 tbsp semi sweet chocolate melted

Instructions

For the Cake:

  • Preheat to 350 degrees.
  • Add parchment paper to a sheet cake pan, butter and flour the paper and sides.
  • Sift together the dry ingredients (including the sugar) into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine.
    Spider Web Cake
  • Add the wet ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together.
  • Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient bowl.
  • Whisk to combine then mix on level 2 for two minutes.
  • Pour batter into cake pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
    Spider Web Cake
  • Allow time to cool. Invert onto wire racks to cool fully.

For the Frosting:

  • Beat butter in a stand mixer. Add cocoa powder on a lower level.
  • Combine confectioners sugar, then salt.
  • Add fudge in slowly.
  • Mix until incorporated.

For the Assembly:

  • Add buttercream to the top of the cake with an ice cream scooper. Spread over with an offset spatula. 
    Spider Web Cake
  • Drizzle a white chocolate spiral.
    Spider Web Cake
  • Drag a point tool or toothpick through both layers, starting from the middle of the spiral. This will create a web look.
    Spider Web Cake

For the Spider:

  • Melt semi sweet chocolate. Transfer to a piping bag.
  • Pipe ‘L’ shaped legs onto parchment paper with the black gel bag. Transfer to the freezer for 5 - 10 minutes to set.
  • Add a brown peanut m&m for the body and a brown m&m for the head of the spider.
  • Stick legs around the m&m body.

Video

Notes

  • Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don't have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
  • The batter is very liquidy so don’t panic! The cake will end up AMAZINGLY MOIST.
  • You can use room temperature or even cold coffee in the batter if you’d prefer.
  • Not a coffee fan? Sub in water or milk instead.
  • If you find cake decorating to be a bit intimidating then check out my How to Decorate a Cake post, it has lots of helpful tips and a full how to video.

Nutrition

Calories: 442kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 464mg | Potassium: 210mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 65g | Vitamin A: 646IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 2mg